KATALIN VARGA

As soon as he discovers that he is not Orbán’s father, Katalin Varga’s husband throws her out of the house. Not wanting her son to grow up without a Dad, Katalin has no other choice but to find the real father. Under the pretext of paying her sick grandmother a visit, mother and son set off on a journey to the Carpathian Mountains. For Katalin this means returning to a place she never wanted to see again in her life, a place that she will always associate with the crime of which she was a victim eleven years ago. Back then, this was the place where she was assaulted by two men. Now it is a clearing where Orbán is playing happily. As soon as she recognises one of her attackers, she begins to flirt with the unsuspecting man. Although the man finds something familiar about Katalin, he doesn’t recognise her. And then, after reminding him of the hours that were so ghastly for her, Katalin kills her tormentor. She decides to continue her revenge. Antal, the other man, is now living in another village. Katalin and Orbán have to make a quick getaway because, among others, the dead man’s brother-in-law is bent on avenging the victim’s death. At this point Orbán begins to suspect that they aren’t going to visit a sick grandmother after all. With blood on her hands, Katalin’s nerves are torn to shreds. Her actions weigh even heavier on her after a promising telephone conversation with her husband. To top it all, Antal turns out to be nothing like the monster she remembers as her attacker. Orbán and Antal become friends and, when Antal suggests that the boy moves in with him for a while, Katalin just doesn’t know what to do.